OFCCP: Ask the Experts

OFCCP Ask the Experts

OFFICE OF FEDERAL CONTRACT COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS

Ask the Experts is an online forum where federal contractors and subcontractors are invited to submit questions to industry experts related to OFCCP compliance, affirmative action planning, and equal employment opportunity. Simply register your company on LocalJobNetwork.com to submit a question.

We've acquired a smaller company and will be retaining some of their employees. In an older post, it is stated that there is little guidance on how to handle these situations yet most companies choose to treat acquired employees as new hires. However, in our HRIS they will retain their seniority dates from prior to the acquisition.

Is it still best to categorize them as new hires or would it be better to simply list them in the employee population? Would the latter cause a disconnect with our previous plan year, since these employee's would 'magically' appear in the population? Could it be simply noted that they are acquired?

Additionally, are we responsible for collecting and including the acquired organization's applicant data for our AAP?

OFCCP may specify in a conciliation agreement that a contractor enter into a linkage agreement with certain organizations. However, outside of a conciliation agreement, there is no OFCCP requirement to have formal linkage agreements with organizations. The requirement under E.O. 11246, VEVRAA, and Section 503 is to conduct outreach to community-based organizations that can help you recruit and hire minorities, women, IWDs, and veterans. There is no requirement as to the number of organizations a contractor should reach out to, as what matters more is the effectiveness of these recruitment sources in referring qualified candidates for your open positions that will help you meet your affirmative action goals. OFCCP requires that contractors analyze their outreach efforts on an annual basis to see which efforts are working and which efforts are not as successful, and then take other measures to bring applicants into the applicant pools to increase the representation of women, minorities, veterans and individuals with disabilities in the contractor’s workforce. What works for every company will be different, so you will have to look at which organizations and outreach strategies work best for your needs.

Job posting wording - proposal/bid positions

Asked by Ashley N. - Mar 05, 2018

I am interested in knowing what guidelines we should be following in posting contingent/future positions. For example, we are often asked to post multiple positions for a proposal effort which we may or may not be awarded - how should that be communicated in the job description/posting, and are there any other considerations in regard to remaining compliant? We are a federal contractor. In the past, we have used, "in anticipation of contract award", or something similar. Is this sufficient? Our positions automatically post to the appropriate ESDSs. Thank you very much!

I hope I'm understanding your issue. It sounds like the situation is, the company is posting a position based on a bid. If the bid is awarded, then the hire is expected to be made and if the award is not won, then there will be no hire. There are no guidelines regarding this specific situation in the laws and regulations enforced by OFCCP. There is no specific language required for contingent positions. Of course, all of the posting and advertising rules still apply.

Ethnicity Naming

Asked by Bridgitt L. - Jan 31, 2018

Hello, Does the OFCCP or other entity require specific naming conventions when it comes to race or ethnicity in our HCM/people management system? We are curious to know what is recommended or required when it comes to names.

OFCCP doesn't have specific naming conventions in its regulations regarding race and ethnicity that federal contractors and subcontractors are required to use. However, OFCCP uses the following terms in its regulations in regard to race and ethnicity and expect employers to collect demographic data according to these categories:

Note that unlike EEOC, OFCCP's regulations do NOT have a separate category for Hawaiian Natives/Pacific Islanders and do NOT have a category for persons who are two or more races. OFCCP issued a directive in 2008 that allows federal contractors and subcontractors to collect demographic data and prepare statistical reports using EEOC's race and ethnicity classifications, but OFCCP has never formally changed its regulations to match EEOC's classifications.

From our experience, OFCCP has not had a problem when federal contractors or subcontractors use naming conventions for the categories above that appropriately represent the category. Thus, it should not be a problem to have an HR system that refers to "African Americans" rather than "Blacks" or that refers to "Native Americans" rather than "American Indians/Alaskan Natives."

Where OFCCP might have a problem is if your system creates new or different categories than the five categories used by OFCCP or the seven categories used by EEOC. For example, if your system has a category for Asians from the Indian Subcontinent, a separate category for Asian for the the Eastern part of Asian, and a third category for Hawaiian Natives/Pacific Islanders, OFCCP might have a problem as it recognizes these first two categories as members of one class for reporting purposes. As another example, if your system has a category for Asians from the Middle East who are counted as minorities in various reports, OFCCP might have a problem since Asians from the Middle East are typically counted as white.

Thus, the naming conventions you use are less important than have categories that conform to OFCCP's expectations.

Export Contacts?

Asked by Kimberly W. - Jan 30, 2018

Hello, is there a way to export a list of diversity organizations to an excel file?

LocalJobNetwork.com partners with over 15,000 community-based organizations nationwide. While there is not a way for employers to export the entire list of organizations, employers who are using LocalJobNetwork.com's solutions are able to run a Community and Diversity Outreach Report and export this to Excel. This report would be more relevant as it will list the organizations that the employer's jobs were sent out to, as well as the contact information for these organizations, giving employers the ability to follow up with them individually. If you need assistance in generating these reports, please give us a call and we'd be happy to assist you.

EEO Policy

Asked by Anonymous - Jan 11, 2018

Is it standard practice to list the contact number for the executive who administers the affirmative action program? We have it listed, but is it a requirement?

It is not required to have phone number listed in the AAP for the individual that administers the plan. There are pros and cons regarding whether to include or exclude a contact number. For example, some companies want to direct any questions about the AAP, including questions from the OFCCP, to a particular person who can best answer questions. Others may not want to provide any more information than is required.

This forum provides information of a general nature. None of the answers or information provided is intended as legal advice or opinion relative to specific matters, facts, situations, or issues. Additional facts and information or future developments may affect the subjects addressed. You should consult with an attorney about your specific circumstance before acting on any of this information since it may not be applicable to your situation. The Local JobNetwork™ and all experts expressly disclaim all liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on any or all of the contents of this forum.